Oh come all ye Faithful

It is almost Christmas and as promised I managed to squeeze in the time to finish the instructions for the two remaining pieces of my nativity scene.

When I created the shepherd I knew that I wanted to not only have him hold a shepherd's staff, but I wanted to add a little companion to his side. At first I had a bit of trouble coming up with a simple design for a very small sheep; but I persisted and the results are this adorable little lamb.

The angel was a simple process as I had created a similar one back in July. This time the angel is wearing heavenly robes tied with a silver sash. I also used switched out the white paper of her wings to vellum.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill and Recollections
Die; Curvy Keepsake - SU
Punches - see individual instructions below for details
Misc.: silver rope trim, butcher's twine, white gel pen

Instructions for shepherd and his little sheep:

Instructions for heavenly angel:

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed my nativity punch art. Merry Christmas!

We Three Kings

I'm trying hard to get these to you before Christmas. I managed to find the time last night to complete the instructions for the next three pieces so today I am sharing the three kings (wise men) of my nativity punch art.

We have Gaspar in his green cloak and golden crown:

Balthazar with a purple cloak and black beard:

Melchior in a golden cloak & crown and white beard:

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Bazzill, and Recollections
Die: Curvy Keepsake - SU
punches: various, for details see individual instructions below
Misc.: Gold foil paper, white gel pen, red rhinestone.

Instructions for: Balthazar:

Instructions for Gaspar:

Instructions for Melchior:

Thank you for stopping by! Make sure to come back for my next post which will contain instructions for the two remaining nativity characters (as well as the darling little sheep).

Nativity Punch art - Manger

As promised today I am sharing the instructions for the manger portion of my nativity punch art.
All characters are free standing as the base is made from the Curvy Keepsake die.

Baby Jesus in the manger is adhered to a base made from acetate. I made the bottom portion a little wider than I normally do for these treat holder so it can accommodate an electronic tealight. As you can see in the photo below, it's quite amazing how much light one of these little things can generate.

The manger uses the tall, pointed portion of the Curvy Keepsake die, which allows for the star to be overhead.

Both Mary and Joseph were made from the shorter, handled portion of the same die.

 

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections and Bazzill
Die: Curvy Keepsake - SU
Punches: various, see individual instructions below.
Misc.: white gel pen, a little bakers twine, electronic tealight - optional.

Manger instructions:

Mary instructions:

Joseph instructions:

Thanks for stopping by. Hope you come back for my next post which will feature the three kings/wise man for this nativity.

Punch Art Nativity

I have been very busy with work and preparations for Christmas. Unfortunately this didn't leave as much time for crafting as I would have liked. I did manage to finish this sweet nativity this past week.

They are of course all made using the Curvy Keepsake die as the base. I did not intend these to be used as treat holder, although they can, but rather as a display. The Curvy Keepsake base allows each character to stand on it's own and in the case of the manger it doubles as a votive holder.
This would be perfect to do with the family. Kids can easily help with the assembly of characters, and even punch some of the shapes.

I will try my bets to finish the instructions for all over the weekend so that I can still post them before Christmas. My plan is to have three posts, the first with Joseph, Mary and the babe, then the three wise men and last the angel and shepherd.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you come back early next week for the first set of instructions.

Holiday Luminaire

For the past few months I have been lucky enough to be able to enjoy an evening with a small group of crafty friends.
We get together in the first week of the month at one of our homes and just relax, chat and craft a little. Usually everyone works on a project they have already started but as it is so close to Christmas we discussed maybe organizing a specific craft for the holidays everyone would enjoy.

I can't take credit for the project idea itself, that was all Linda's. She came across a photo of a holiday luminaire made from a recycled jar featuring a paper silhouette scene around the outer edge. We then worked together to organize supplies and instructions.
The most difficult part was to find a template for the silhouette scene. We wanted to make the project simple but provide everyone with the opportunity to make it their own without needing the skill to draw a design themselves.
I looked through my various dies and large punches and came up with the idea to use some of these as stencils to create a scene of choice. This worked rather well and only required the windows to be cut free hand.

Here is one of my luminaries (yes, I made more than one)

These are the basic die (and bare tree punch) shapes we used:

I always find it such a pleasant surprise when I am able to use some of my paper crafting supplies in a new and unexpected way.

To create my silhouette scene I started by drawing a base line a few inches from the bottom of my black cardstock for the ground. I then placed various trees and houses along this line and outlined them with pencil. The scene was then cut out using scissors or a craft knife. I actually used both, scissors for the basic outline and my craft knife to cut out the  "in-between" spaces and windows.

The results were this lovely scene:

 

I used a strip of double-sided adhesive tape along the bottom edge of my jar to attached the paper. The top of the jar was then finished with paper raffia, a little gold wire and a Christmas charm.

  

I quite like how this turned out and made a second one for my sister. I could see several of these sitting on a fireplace mantel or window sill for a very pretty holiday decoration.

And these are not limited to Christmas. I am now thinking of making some for next Halloween changing the scene a little by adding bats and ghouls, maybe a witch. I'll have to see what dies and punches I have that will work best

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections black
Dies used for templates: Happy Home - SU, small & large fir tee - Sizzix (original red)
Punch: Mega bare tree - EK Success
Misc.: mason jar, raffie/ribbon, brass charm, wire.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon. 

Wedding Butterflies

Apologies for the lack of posts this past week. My husband and I were out of town for a wedding.
Long time friends youngest daughter got married. I still can't believe she's old enough to do that. I've know her all her life and it's amazing to see the young woman she's turned into.

When I wrapped her wedding present I thought I'd do something a little special, but it couldn't be too elaborate as it needed to withstand a 10 hour car ride. Butterflies came to mind, as they symbolize change, beauty and a new beginning.

Here is what I came up with.

I grouped several butterflies, of all three sizes, around and on top of my ribbon bow.

Right in the center are the two largest, to form a couple.

The butterflies added a very simple yet elegant touch of something special, and they survived the trip.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections 110 lb white
Dies: Bold Butterflies and Butterfly Thinlits from SU
Misc.: I used a precision plate and dryer sheets to make cutting these delicate design easier. All the butterflies were slightly folded and then I glued the body section to the package with Mono Multi.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Rose Gift Bags

Last but not least, I have 2 larger gifts for my daughter that would never fit into any boxes I can make myself. I therefore opted to use solid black gift bags and decorate them to match my Goth inspired birthday set.
I attached the decorated doily with temporary adhesive, so the decor can be removed without damaging the bag (although knowing my daughter she will keep them intact as they are).

I made a large bag, (9 x 13'):

 and here are some close ups:

and a made a smaller/medium sized one (approx. 7" x 9"):

and some close ups:

I used 3 punches to make the flowers, my largest used the Fancy Flower punch, the medium roses the Pansy punch and the smallest the Petite Petals. All the roses use the same basic technique, instructions can be found in this post.

I have one last photo to share, the complete set.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamps: Because you care - SU, Label Love - SU
Punches:Fancy Flower - SU, Pansy - SU, Petite Petals - SU, Blossom Petal
Misc.: paper doilies (8" and 5" - mine are from the dollar store), Pearls, gold shimmer mist, 5/8" black grosgrain ribbon and 1.5" black ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon for some "mustache" inspired punch art.

Goth inspired birthday

No birthday set would be complete without a handmade card. I  opted for smaller roses for this, but still sued the same basic instructions as found here. I made these blossoms using the SU Pansy punch and for the small ones the SU Petite Petals punch.

If you look at the close up you can see that the smaller blossom are not all the same. 3 are made with the Petite Petals, and are 2-3 layers, the other 3 are "buds" only and are made from one single Pansy.

Supplies used:

Cardstock: Recollections

Stamp: Remembering Your Birthday - SU

Ink: Memento, Tuxedo black

Die: Spellbinders - A2 Tranquil Moments

Punches: Pansy - SU, Petite Petals - SU, Blossom Petals (builder, 2nd smallest) - SU

Misc.: Gold shimmer mist, 5/8" black organza ribbon, pearls- 4 x 3/8" 4 x 3/16" 2 x 1/16".

 

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Goth inspired gift boxes

I had intended to publish this post Friday/Saturday but unfortunately my PC crashed and I was unable to access my hard drive for the photos. I cannot even start it up anymore, it immediately crashes (just love that blue screen).
Had to purchase a new PC, admittedly it was time anyways.
Finally got the new PC yesterday (am not sure I am a fan of windows 8).
Please bear with me over the next week as my posts my not all be ready as I had originally scheduled/intended.
I managed to get my latest photos loaded from my camera, Photoshop is installed, MS office is installed ... etc. but there are still things I need to put on this new PC over the next week or so.

Now to my post, I made a couple more Goth inspired gift boxes to match my berry basket from my last post. The roses are all the same design as well.
The hamburger box uses the Blossom punch (instructions found here) and the curvy keepsake box uses the same instructions but with the pansy punch.

Hamburger box:

 Curvy Keepsake box:

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Stamp: Simply Sketched - SU
Dies: Hamburger Box - SU,|Curvy Keepsake Box - SU, Fancy Tags Two - Shapeabilities - Spellbinders
Punches: Blossom - SU, Pansy - SU
Misc.: white paper doilies, 2 x 1/4" red rhinestones, 1 1/2" black ribbon, string of 1/8" pearls, 5/8" black, organza ribbon, gold shimmer mist.

Thanks for stopping by! Hope to see you again soon.

Red Rose Berry Basket

As I've probably mentioned before, my daughter is a big fan of anything goth inspired. As her birthday is next month I've been working on some gift boxes and let myself be inspired by her love for goth. I therefore incorporated deep red, black and white and a touch of lace into the design.

Here is the first little goody, my goth inspired berry basket.

I love how great this turned out. It really shows how versatile the berry basket die can be.

I cut my basket from black card base. Lined it with white doilies and added a big black ribbon bow to both side of the handle.

On top of each bow I glued a handmade, red paper rose spritzed with gold shimmer. My roses were made using the SU Blossom Punch. Instructions are at the end of this post.

I added a very decorative label to the front embellished with a little red rhinestone bling.

Supplies used:
Cardstock: Recollections
Stamp: Simply Sketched - SU
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Dies: Berry basket - SU, Fancy Tags Two - Shapeabilities - Spellbinders
Punch: Blossom - SU
Misc.: 1.5" wide black ribbon, 2 x 1/4" red rhinestones, 4 small white doilies, foam mounting squares, gold glimmer mist, and for my gift, red tissue and a gingham ribbon scrap.

Full instructions for my roses below.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.

Scallop Circle Cabbage Rose

I hope you didn't think I was done making flowers from my scallop circle punch.
This is one of my favourite punches (I have all 4 SU sized). It is so versatile...endless possibilities.

Today I am sharing my very simple cabbage style rose.

 

Very pretty, don't you think?

 

And here's how you can make one- worked with any size scallop circle. I used the largest 2 3/8" scallop circle by SU. My rose uses only 3 scallop circles.

 

 

More punch are fun to come, hope you come back soon!